


First Period

by LittleRedRoseontheValley (TheLifeAndLiesOfFerns)



Category: High School Story (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family, Letters, Verbal Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-26 10:14:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30104388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLifeAndLiesOfFerns/pseuds/LittleRedRoseontheValley
Summary: Amanda receives a letter from her mother. Nothing good ever comes out of those.
Relationships: Aiden Zhou/Main Character (High School Story: Original Trilogy)
Kudos: 1





	First Period

It was just another Spring morning in Cedar Cove. A cold breeze blew from the sea, but the sky was a clear blue and the sun was slowly warming the earth.

The clock ticks on and Aiden starts feeling anxious, the flaming red mane of red hair or the blue bicycle was nowhere to be seen. Amanda was not usually that late, and he had a feeling of dread pooling in his stomach.

He knew there was something very wrong with his girlfriend. She did not call, and he was not with her at the moment, but the young pianist had always had a sort of sixth sense when it came to her. She was never able to hide anything from him, something that bothered she greatly time to time.

Five minutes before first bell, there it came her slumped body, pushing her bike along to her side. She did not seem flushed, so he would assume she walked, instead of pedalling, to school.

She smiled toothlessly. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, Amanda.” The boy greeted her, warily, attentive for any signs of standoffish behaviour. “How are you?”

“I’m fine.” She shrugged. “We should be getting to class. We don’t want to be late.”

“Sure…” He said.

They began walking through the teenage-packed hallways towards Amanda’s homeroom. She walked sluggishly, with the book bag hung on one of her shoulders.

Her boyfriend looked at her appraisingly. “You arrived later than usual today.”

“I’m not late.” She countered.

“I know, I meant you came later than usual.” The Asian boy clarified, most obtusely. “Did something happen at home?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary.” The girl responded, uncommittedly.

“I see.” Aiden was still unconvinced, so he pressed further. “You are pretty quiet, too. Are you sure you are okay?”

She refrained from rolling her eyes where she stood, a seemingly blank expression on her face. “Like I told you five minutes ago, and several times after that, I’m fine. Seriously, go ahead and do whatever you were planning on doing, go to class. I’m perfectly alright.”

Amanda could see the look of unease on her boyfriend’s face, she knew she was being cruel and worrying him, but she still did not feel able to open up to him about what, indeed, had happened. It hurt her too much, and talking only felt her feel worse.

Aiden sighed. “Well, you leave me no choice. Come with me.”

The boy picked her hand up and pulled her towards the Music Room. It was empty on the first period, and the virtuoso was granted a copy of the keys, as the president of the school band. It was ideal to talking in private, they would not be heard or interrupted in there.

He let his girlfriend in and closed and locked the door behind her. “Here, now we are all alone. It’s just me and you.”

Amanda sat down at one of the violin chairs next to the door, while Aiden leaned on the piano, on the opposite side of the room.

“So I see.” She said, humourlessly. “We’re going to miss first period.”

He shrugged. “I don’t really care for that.”

“Have you thought I might care?” The redhead argued. “What do you want, Aiden?”

“How about we start over the day, huh? This time we’ll do it right.” He crossed the room to kneel in front of her, his eyes roaming her form for any sign of physical injury.

She fiddled with her fingers as she watched him, but said nothing.

“Hey.” He breathed out.

“Fine.” She conceded, defeated. “Hi.”

The word was short, but the heartbreak Aiden heard in her voice seemed never ending. “How are you?”

She looked away from him. “I’m fine.”

“I’m not blind, honey.” He caught her hand, and gently tugged her body closer to him. “Please don’t push me away, not right now.”

The pleading tone of his voice would have normally had her already ranting, but now all Amanda felt like doing was pushing him off of her. “I’m not. It’s just that I don’t really have anything to be upset over.”

“Don’t lie to me.” he whispered, fingers catching her chin. He moved so she was looking directly at him. “I know you’re not fine, and that you’re hurt. You can cry, yell, scream, even hit me if you want, but don’t lie to me and say you’re fine when you’re clearly not.”

A moment of silence passed. Then another. Then another. Then her lower lip started trembling, and Aiden pulled she into him as she cried.

The girl tugged on her light cotton skirt. That morning, as she walks down to breakfast, her grandmother was waiting at the table with a letter from Florida, with the usual frown on her face. She knew what it meant, it was news from her mother, and as one might expect, there was nothing flattering on the paper.

Her father wanted her to stay behind and talk about it, but she was not having any of that, so she got up from the table, slammed the front door and left for school.

“Why wasn’t I good enough?” Amanda hiccupped.

Pain flashed in his eye as he listened to her. “’Manda, you are…”

“But I wasn’t!” She finally let out on a wail. “Not for her, I never have been. I’ve always been too stupid, or too smart, or too fat, or skinny, or quiet, or energetic! I’ve done everything for her! I did it all for her, and now it doesn’t even matter. Because at the end of the day, it’s still my fault. She disowned me because I wasn’t good enough!”

It was in times like this Aiden felt bittersweet was an emotion in itself. He did not know how to relate to her. He might have grown up with helicopter parents, and it got stressful at times, but they were middle class and did not care as much for appearances. At the end of the day, he could count on them pulling through when it mattered, and he loved them for it.

The former Mrs. Rosenberg, on the other hand, was an infamous harpy, being snobbish and proud. He would always be surprised by how vile she would behave towards her daughter, all in name of keeping up with a perfectionist façade.

As much as Aiden tried to wrap his head around it, he could not help her in all the ways he wished he could. There was really only one way he could help, and it was by soothing the wounds the woman inflicted.

“Amanda, that’s stupid.” He said, flabbergast. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Look at you! You’re top in class, first chair on the band, a damn good actress, and the most popular and beloved student in this school.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.” She whispered away to the void.

“It most certainly does! It means everything in the world, Amanda.” He argues with a rare shout from the usually soft-spoken, noise-averse musician. “It means that, for those who matter, you are so much more than enough. You are amazing, and kind, and beautiful, and I am so very in love with you. You’re not too anything. You’re you and that is perfect.”

“No one is perfect, Aiden. Me least of all.” The girl countered, looking angrily at the boy. “Besides, if I was that flawless, my mother wouldn’t find so much to complain.”

He scoffs. “Your mother doesn’t bully you because you weren’t enough. She bullies you because _she_ wasn’t enough. She wasn’t enough to be a mother, much less a good one. She wasn’t enough for you, and that’s that. You are more than enough.”

She smiled softly at her boyfriend. “I don’t believe you.”

“I know.” He beamed at her. “But it doesn’t matter. I will tell you that any time you need it.”

Amanda softened her hard expression and hugged him and kissed his cheeks sweetly. If she was being a realist, no amount of assurances, coming from him or anyone else, would ever be enough, but she really loved him for trying.

They spent the first period hugged together alone at the music room, basking on the comfort of each other’s presences. Aiden strengthen his hold on her, and if she was feeling better, then he did not care for any classes he might miss in the morning.


End file.
